Thursday, 4 May 2017

[HM:258585] A Smile a Day Keeps Sadness Away

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By Dr Mansoor Anwar, Dubai

What makes you happy? A question answered more than 45 years ago by our beloved founding father his highness sheikh Zayed bin sultan alnayhan. He demonstrated the answer practically by creating the happiest, most tolerant nation on this planet, United Arab Emirates.

After thousands of research in the field of happiness, no agreement has reached yet to define it. It is a concept that reshapes itself and assume different colors in every society. However, there are some common principles that when adhering to them helps us to live a meaningfully positive life.

Health is one principle. Whether eating wisely, moving regularly or sleeping peacefully, being healthy allows the body cells to renew quickly and inject positive energy to the mind. The mental positive energy works like a cushion that protects the individual during moments of hardship especially in the workplace where a daily dose of positivity is crucial to spread happiness among all.

Another important principle is mindfulness. When was the last time you enjoyed a meal or a beautiful scene? Can you remember a work incident where you controlled your emotions and found a positive excuse for your colleague? Being mindful is the art of living the moment and recognizing our emotions. In many instances, we personalize the situation and assume the negative outcome. Rewiring the brain to wear the positive lens is one of the most difficult mental exercises but once mastered it create oasis of happiness and makes us positively contagious.

Why do we work? One of the most powerful happiness principles is the sense of purpose. It creates an ongoing momentum and refuels the mind with positivity. The challenge is to keep the "why" question positively alive before every work decision we make. We through blames on each other, give excuses, delay delivery, forgetting in the middle of all this that our ancestors shed their sweat answering the why and worked with passion despite all the obstacles.

However, the mother of all happiness principles is gratitude. A tool that makes every single breath you take a blessing. With the spread of social media, our comparison criteria shifted to what we do not have versus what others have. This created waves of anxiety, depression and envy both in personal and work life. Colleagues became distant and workplaces became cold. Practicing gratitude and counting what went well at the end of each day shall help equip the mind with resilience & fight the negativity of the comparison dilemma.

Using the above principles, we will charge our workplaces with positivity and fill our workers with happiness, and as his highness Sheikh Mohammed bn Rashid almaktoum said " in order to make your customers happy, you have to make your employees happy".